MOVIE · 1988

Moonwalker

ActionAdventureCrimeFamilyFantasyThriller93 min

Michael Jackson is the center of a loose, fantastical anthology that turns songs from Bad into mini-movies, concert footage, and extended music-video set pieces. Rather than one continuous story, Moonwalker jumps through parody, animation, claymation, and live-action fantasy, all built around Jackson’s screen persona as performer, hero, and pop-culture figure. Joe Pesci turns up in the film’s crime-story thread, while several segments lean fully into choreographed spectacle, including a centerpiece built around “Smooth Criminal.” The movie plays like a late-’80s collage of music, image, and fan mythology, with Jackson linking each shift in style.